Charles Bessey, Letters, 1891

I am very sorry that I can not return this summer. But I am in such straitened circumstances and have such an unpromising immediate future that I feel I must stay here. I shall try to get the opportunity of using one of the Iowa College microscopes this summer. Sincerely, H. W. Norris

CORNELL COLLEGE. PRESIDENT'S OFFICE. Niagara Falls N. J. July 20 /91 Dear Prof Bessey: We will need an additional teacher next year in the Dept of Nat. Hist. to teach Botany, Biology and Astronomy, with special qualifications and preparations for some or better all these lines of work. If we get the right man the position will develop into a regular professorship in the early future. The name of Henry W. Norris has been mentioned. Please give me the fullest information you possibly can as to his special preparations and qualifications, teaching ability etc. Please give me confidentially all the points good or bad that I need to know. What are his church connections? Address me as soon as convenient Ocean Grove N. Jersey. % of the "General Delivery," Yours truly, [D F. King]

Grinnell, Iowa, July 31, 1891. Prof. C. E. Bessey, Lincoln, Nebr. Dear Sir- Thinking you might be interested to know what I am about in a botanical way I therefore write. I have been at work this week getting material ready for laboratory work in morphological botany. I have had the worst difficulty right at the start. I took some of the green colored bark of north side of elm trees and kept it in a moist place a day or so. Their mounting some of the slime in water and watching it under the microscope a few minutes I say myriads of two tailed zoospores break out of green 4-celled bodies which I had at first taken for Protococci. Each 4 celled body gave rise to 8 zoospores. I don't know much about Protococcus and confirm nothing here. What sort of an alga did I have? With the rest of the material I had

good success, though many of the fresh water algae I have not yet found. Have you ever heard of a man, F.H. or I.W. Hall? I have found here a small collection of marine algae collected by him. They are all or nearly all named, and appear to be reliably identified. They are mostly New England species. There is an immense (at least it looks so now) amount of botanical material here to be overhauled for an herbarium. I shall begin next week to get ready for zoological work. I hope to progress enough so I can do some work on a second paper on the ear of the salamander before college opens. Prof. Kingsley writes me that he thinks my first paper will be printed in the Journal of Morphology. Will you please tell me the full title of Farlow's recent paper on the host index of American fungi? I forgot to write it down. Respectfully, H.W.Norris

Grinnell Iowa Oct 5, 1891 Prof. C. E. Bessey Lincoln, Neb. Dear Professor- I am hard at work and at the end of the first month feel somewhat encouraged. So far all has gone well. I give four lectures a week and all the rest of my time goes to laboratory work. In "Junior Biology" there are 27 students, 19 taking it as an elective. With only six microscopes you can see it may well hustle me to do work satisfactory to myself. In Senior, or advanced work there are 5 students. I enjoy the work, but wish I could accomodate more at a time and thus condense my time spent in the laboratory. I hope to be able to add 10 more microscopes before next year. These with a few other accessories would put me in excellent condition for solid work. I am much obliged for the